February 24, 2009

Closing on Gordon Park sale postponed again as attorneys are immersed in motions and discovery

The Park District of La Grange today agreed to put off until at least March 31 the closing of its sale of 2.82 acres of Gordon Park to developer Atlantic Realty Partners (ARP).

Robert Bush, attorney for the park district, agreed to the postponement during a status hearing before Cook County Circuit Court Judge Leroy Martin Jr, who is presiding over a lawsuit filed by La Grange resident Orlando Coryell that seeks to stop the sale.

Bush yesterday filed a motion for summary judgment in favor the park district, arguing that there was general agreement on the material facts at issue in the case.

Tom Beyer and Mark Wohlberg, attorneys for Coryell, scoffed at the suggestion of agreement, noting that the park district has admitted to only 37 of the more than 140 facts contained in Coryell's six-count complaint.

"A lot of factual issues are unresolved," Wohlberg said.

Beyer told the judge that the park district also had not responded to discovery requests filed a month ago.

Bush told the judge that the park district would "make reasonable efforts to resolve all discovery issues."

Beyer said he would file a response to Bush's motion for summary judgment within a week, and also got the judge's permission to request a preliminary injunction that could bar the park district from consummating its sale until the lawsuit is resolved.

ARP's attorney, Brad Block, made his first appearance on behalf of the developer, who is named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit. Block said he would file a response to Coryell's complaint sometime this week.

Charlene Yaneza, an attorney from the law firm Sidley Austin, identified herself as representing the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago but only as a monitor observing the proceedings from the gallery.

The YMCA has not yet responded to a subpoena served on it last week by Coryell's attorneys for records related to its transactions with ARP.

ARP hopes to redevelop the former Rich Port YMCA site and the 2.82 acres of Gordon Park that adjoin it as La Grange Place, featuring 283 apartments, 26 townhouses and 33,000 square feet of retail space.